Political parties, while not mentioned in the Constitution, are one of the most important institutional arrangements in our political and governmental system. To find out more about the two major parties in the United States, visit the Democratic National Committee home page (www.democrats.org) and the Republican National Committee site (www.rnc.org). What issues do the Democrats seem to focus on? The Republicans? How do the parties differ in their opinions on the issues that both address?

Both parties have party organizations affiliated with each of the houses of Congress: the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (House of Representatives), at www.dccc.org; the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, at www.dscc.org; the National Republican Congressional Committee (House of Representatives), at www.nrcc.org; and the National Republican Senatorial Committee, at www.nrsc.org.

Not surprisingly, a number of minor or third parties also maintain web sites. They include the Libertarian Party (www.lp.org/lp.html), the Reform Party (www.reformparty.org), the Green Parties of North America (www.greens.org), the Democratic Socialists of America (www.dsausa.org), and the United States Taxpayers Party (www.ustaxpayers.org).

Third parties offer different policy positions that are often opposed to those of the two major parties. As an exercise, select three of the third parties listed above and compare their positions on one or more issues to those of the Democrats and the Republicans.